March 1, 2013 – Hi everyone! We’re back with another photo update from Universal Studios Hollywood – this time, detailing the work currently underway for “Universal Plaza,” Terminator 2:3D’s construction site, and a few shots of the restored Back to the Future DeLorean over at the NBCUniversal Experience.
Let’s get started!
We’re back! (or really, Chris is back)
As expected, Earthquake is currently undergoing some pretty extensive refurbishment which is expected to last until March 16. Sorry Earthquake fans.
Wild West has been completely wiped out. Our sources currently tell us that the area formerly known as “Central Park” will now be known as “Universal Plaza”.
Expect a few patches of grass and perhaps even a small water feature if we’re lucky.
Nothing but dirt…
An overview of the construction thus far.
Meanwhile, over at Terminator 2…
…the metal facade has been completely removed. Anyone have a guess at what the facade could be?
Looks like they’re still in the deconstruction phase for the building’s exterior portion.
Walls are looking nice…
Side shot. They’re currently retrofitting the entire parking structure beneath Coke Soak.
Heading over to the backlot…
Collapsing Bridge seems to be operating on an infrequent basis while Earthquake is down.
More backlot work.
A sneak preview of Earthquake. Looks like heavy work is being done.
Next up, the DeLorean from Back to the Future!
Beautiful work by the restoration team.
Some more details. They’ve apparently left the projection screen on, and shoved the DeLorean right in front of it.
Hey, look! It’s the new Dora! We’ve been told there’s a new SpongeBob laying around as well, but we haven’t been able to find him. Anyone have pictures?
Finally, let’s take a look at Transformers: The Ride – 3D and its beautiful facade. (take that, Orlando!)
Guests loving the photo ops.
That’s all folks. Still no word on the opening date of Despicable Me. However, Universal finally broke some ground by making an informal announcement to the L.A. Times. Despicable Me’s opening date and location still have not been confirmed, though we’re currently looking at two possible dates: Summer 2013 (to coincide with the release of Despicable Me 2) or Spring 2014. Other than that, Universal Plaza’s progress is looking good, and I wouldn’t expect a major new attraction in that area for the time being.
In the meantime, thanks for following us along. As always, be sure to join the discussion over at USHForums.com, like our Facebook and follow us on Twitter. Cheers!
Photos by Chris Lord. Captions by Jon Fu.
